Gallup has produced a very interesting graph showing party identification. Take those who identify as Democrats and subtract those who identify as Republicans. For the young and baby boomers the gap is huge. But for those between 37 and 46 the gap is pretty small. Why? I think it's the Reagan effect.In 1984 my high school polled students for they would vote for if we could vote. Reagan won 70% of the vote. I felt like a real minority. I remember joking with a friend that we should start the Democrats Anonymous club.
Twenty years later my generation is still the most Republican because we came of age during Reagan's reign. Political identification doesn't change easily. I think the best gift President Bush has given my party is a long lasting supply of Democratic voters.
Am I the only Democrat now happy that Kerry lost in '04? Are there any Republicans wishing he had won?
Update: After I wrote the above I saw that Nate Silver at 538 makes the same point. He also included this cool chart that shows political affiliation based on who was president when the voter turned 18.
I am happy that Kerry lost in '04. I campaigned for him, but not with the same gusto I did for Obama. I was more concerned about our Congressional, Senatorial and state government races.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'm not sure that having Bush in office for 4 more years did anything good for our country - except that hopefully the Democrats will retain power for a long time.
Also, maybe Edwards would have not had the affair. Yeah, right. If Edwards still had the affair - it could have ruined Kerry's presidency if he had been elected.
Overall, I think it is probably a good thing that Kerry didn't get elected. However, I didn't necessarily have good judgment in that election - I caucused for Edwards. So, my opinion may not be worth much!
I find it interesting that the scale tilted closer to the Republican side during the end of the Nixon Administration... Weird.
ReplyDeleteIt really highlights the tradeoff of having power. You need it to get things done, but it means you are responsible for what happens. It makes you think that political parties should take off years when they feel that they have nothing to add. If the best I can offer are shitty presidents then I might be better off letting the other side take a turn with their equally shitty president for a while.
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